Tour of California: Thousands see riders off from Monterey on fourth stage of race

CAMBRIA >> It was an unseasonable 81 degrees with a large crowd donning shorts and T-shirts, hats and sunglasses and plenty of sunscreen for the noon start of stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California in downtown Monterey.

And the weather continued as a presiding factor Wednesday in the eight-day bike race.

Not only did riders once again have to deal with the heat, a strong tailwind helped six breakaway riders surprise the race's top sprinters after nearly a four-hour ride along the Pacific Coast.

Canadian Will Routley, part of the breakaway, took the day's honors while Britain's Bradley Wiggins extended his race lead by four seconds to 28 seconds over Australian Rohan Dennis.

Thousands of fans lined Alvarado Street for the Monterey start, the first in the city since the inaugural Tour of California in 2006. As expected, the fans were often heard discussing the weather, and friends Rich Wohlstadter and Stan Dowson arrived near the team cars on Polk Street prepared.

Wohlstadter, visiting from Redwood City, wore an oversized straw hat. Dowson of Monterey, had a good supply of sunscreen on his face.

"I didn't know anything about this," said Dowson to the teasing of his friend. "And I didn't realize these things were so complex."

Wohlstadter, who three years ago traveled to watch the Tour de France, was surprised at how close he was to the teams and riders.

"I really like bike racing and I came down to beat him at cribbage," Wohlstadter said. "But when I went to the Tour de France you needed a special ticket to get behind the scenes like this."

Since the opening stage on Sunday in Sacramento, weather has influenced the race. The first stage was windy and cool. One rider fell off his bike in gnarly crosswinds in the stage 2 time trial. In Tuesday road's road stage, which ended on Mount Diablo in Danville, temperatures reached into the mid-90s.

"It wasn't too hot," said Wiggins following the fourth stage. "We had a coastal breeze. It could be a lot worse."

Lucas Euser of Napa, who's competing in the event for the sixth time, began his pro career competing at the Sea Otter Classic.

"The heat going up Mount Diablo kind of put everything in slow motion, so amazingly 81 degrees is a break in the weather," chuckled Euser a few minutes before the start. "It is a little bit cooler today and I know we are going on the coast so we'll get a little bit of a breeze. And I think going down into Cambria and the Pismo Beach we'll get a reprieve from it."

The riders' lead group, none of whom were within 13 minutes of the race leader starting the day, pedaled in control from the opening miles.

Noted sprinters Mark Cavendish of Great Britain, a 25-time Tour de France stage winner and the victor in stage 1, and Peter Sagan of Slovakia were expected to animate the final sprint. But it never materialized.

"I think we got lucky," said Routley, who leads the race's climbing competition and has been in the breakaway in all three road races. "In the last few kilometers there was a tailwind and that helped. I've been in races with a tailwind and we've been caught. But today worked."

The eight-day event continues Thursday with a 107.4-mile road race from Pismo Beach to Santa Barbara.